Ride-Along View: Grasshopper 12-Story Test Flight 12/17/12

SpaceX's Grasshopper takes a 12-story leap towards full and rapid rocket reusability in a test flight conducted December 17, 2012 at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. Grasshopper, a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (VTVL), rose 131 feet (40 meters), hovered and landed safely on the pad using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control. The total test duration was 29 seconds. Grasshopper stands 10 stories tall and consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage, Merlin 1D engine, four steel landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure.

• Category

  Science & Technology

[GoProCamera]

Glad we could go along for the hover ride.

[gopher652003]

They're testing vertical takeoff/vertical landing rockets, like the ones you see in 1950s cartoons. No one's ever built an orbital rocket that could land back on its launch pad before. It's very difficult. If it works, this will be the first one.

[nooper]

holy crap how do they get it to stay stable in the air like that??? wouldn't you need like stabilizing boosters doing micro-fires every couple seconds? or is it a gyroscopic balancing thing? OR IS IT JUST A BOSS DAT DON SWANG??

[mikelh]

One man from a humble background turns his idea into a silicon valley success, then a few short years later he has another idea and decides to create his own company to travel to space, something which only highly advanced NATIONS are capable of attempting, and even plans for this company to do someone that has never been even attempted, travel to another planet, Mars. He has accomplished this from scratch.

This is what is possible in –America- . Where dreamers accomplish their grand dreams.

[TheKturner05]

this seems sooooooooo stable its almost unbelievable. The camera dosent even seem to vibrate.

[Steven Cheng]

it's iron man

[Warbird Phoenix]

Whoever was in that tall outhouse really needs to change their diet,that'll sting your ring,whew!

[jp3d2k]

OMG the Jet Propulsion Laboratory better change their blatantly incorrect name to the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. I heard that some sea creatures actually use jet propulsion underwater. How could that possibly work with nowhere to intake their oxygen from. I don't trust Wikipedia, but man you seem soooooooooooo knowledgeable!

[Clark Cant]

Whoa! :D

[SquirrelFromGradLife]

So they had single use planes and trains? single use cars?... what single use mode of transportation do you have besides rockets?...and btw model rockets are mostly reusable, but the cost of rocket engines compared to having to reuse them in order to get insurance is on the side of use and throw away simply due to the complexity of their design.

[Sameer Ansari]

History also shows all other modes of transportation transitioning from single-use to reusable, and the successes have transformed our society. I agree that it will be a long road to reusable rockets, but baby-steps and giant leaps and eventually a same day launch could become reality.

[Airthumbs]

I have a question for SpaceX: After spending some considerable time using Orbiter and the SpaceX vehicles I would like to know why you do not go to the Moon? (Excluding the fact we are at Solar maximum)